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Oman

Oman has no enacted standalone crypto law yet, but the Capital Market Authority (now Financial Services Authority) is actively building a Virtual Assets Regulatory Framework — announced February 2023, with public consultations in 2023 and a finalising consultation in 2025 — to license all VASP categories; crypto is currently captured by AML/CFT rules (Royal Decree No. 30 of 2016) and CMA Decision No. E/35/2023. Payments and e-money are regulated by the Central Bank of Oman under the National Payment Systems Law (Royal Decree No. 8/2018) and its 2019 Executive Regulation. Gambling is comprehensively prohibited under the Basic Law (Sharia basis) and the Omani Penal Law; there is no regulator or licence.

Available licences

Crypto / Virtual Assets — framework in development (VARF; AML registration meanwhile)

No full VASP licence is available yet. The FSA/CMA is building the Virtual Assets Regulatory Framework to license all VASP categories; currently only AML/CFT registration under CMA Decision No. E/35/2023 (and Royal Decree No. 30/2016) applies.

Payment Service Provider (PSP) Licence — CBO

Authorisation under the National Payment Systems Law to provide payment services (e-wallets, merchant processing, remittance) as a bank or non-bank PSP.

Electronic Money Issuance — CBO

Authorisation to issue electronic money under the National Payment Systems Law and its Executive Regulation, with CBO oversight.

Payment System Operator / Settlement Agent — CBO

Licensing of payment-system operators, participants and settlement agents under the National Payment Systems Law.

Gambling — none (Sharia-prohibited)

No gambling licence exists or can be issued. All gambling (casino, betting, lottery, online) is prohibited under the Basic Law (Sharia basis) and the Omani Penal Law.

Detailed overview

Oman at a glance

Oman (population approximately 5.3 million — figure not separately primary-verified) is a high-income Gulf Sultanate pursuing economic diversification (Oman Vision 2040) with FinTech as a pillar, an Islamic-law constitutional basis, a USD-pegged rial, and a cash-but-digitalising payments market. It is distinctive in the GCC for building (rather than banning) a virtual-assets regime, while maintaining an absolute gambling prohibition.

Crypto regime — framework in development (not yet enacted as a full licence):

  • No enacted standalone crypto statute; crypto is not legal tender
  • Virtual Assets Regulatory Framework (VARF) — CMA/FSA announced February 2023; public stakeholder consultation 2023 (responses by ~17 August 2023); a finalising consultation paper in 2025 (VASP regulation, digital-asset issuance, licensing prerequisites and fees); to cover crypto assets, tokens, crypto exchanges and ICOs with a market-abuse/surveillance regime; built on extensive global benchmarking
  • CMA Decision No. E/35/2023 — instructions on registration of VASPs and AML/CFT implementation; Royal Decree No. 30 of 2016 (AML/CFT) — broad "funds" definition reaching digital/electronic form; FATF Recommendation 15 alignment
  • The CMA/FSA aims to provide an alternative financing/investment platform while mitigating risk — a facilitative, not prohibitionist, posture (contrast with several GCC peers)

Payments and e-money regime (CBO):

  • National Payment Systems Law — Royal Decree No. 8/2018 (first-of-its-kind regionally) and Executive Regulation — Ministerial Decision No. 1/2019 (Official Gazette 28 July 2019; in force 29 July 2019; 76 articles); licensing of PSPs, e-money issuers, system operators, participants, settlement agents; direct-debit, e-money and clearing-automation provisions
  • CBO (Royal Decree No. 7/1974) — regulator/supervisor; first PSP licence to Thawani Technologies (2020); national infrastructure incl. RTGS, ACH, Electronic Cheque Clearing, OmanNet switch, MPCSS/MpClear mobile clearing, e-payment gateway
  • FinTech Regulatory Sandbox (local FinTechs, minimum 6 months); open-banking framework approved (reported January 2025); IBAN mandatory for domestic transfers from 1 July 2025; new Banking Law expanding CBO authority and formally recognising digital banks
  • Currency: OMR, pegged to USD (USD 1 = OMR 0.3845; among the world's highest-value units)

Gambling regime — comprehensively prohibited:

  • Basic Law (Article 2) — Islam is the state religion and Islamic Sharia is the basis of legislation; gambling (maisir/qimar) is haram
  • Omani Penal Law — establishing, preparing, opening or managing a gambling place / organising games of chance is criminal; the gambling-establishment offence is commonly cited around Article 289 (imprisonment up to three years plus fines; sources also cite a three-month-to-three-year range for organising)
  • No regulator, no licensing route, no exceptions, no national lottery; online gambling not separately addressed but covered by the general prohibition; offshore sites are blocked though informal access is reported

Last verified: May 2026. Reference rate: USD 1 = OMR 0.3845 (1 OMR ≈ USD 2.60). The Omani rial is pegged to the US dollar; the rate is stable by policy and among the world's highest-value currency units.

Oman is a build-not-ban Gulf jurisdiction for crypto (VARF in development; AML registration meanwhile), with a developed CBO payments/e-money regime, and an absolute Sharia-grounded gambling prohibition.

Is there a crypto licence in Oman?

Not yet a full licence — a framework is being built. The CMA/FSA announced a Virtual Assets Regulatory Framework in February 2023 and ran a finalising consultation in 2025 to license all VASP categories. In the interim, crypto is captured by AML/CFT rules (Royal Decree No. 30/2016) and CMA Decision No. E/35/2023 (VASP registration). There is no enacted standalone crypto statute.

The legal foundation:

  • VARF (in development) — CMA/FSA announced February 2023; 2023 public consultation; 2025 finalising consultation (VASP regulation, issuance, licensing prerequisites/fees, market-abuse regime); covers crypto assets, tokens, exchanges, ICOs
  • CMA Decision No. E/35/2023 — VASP registration + AML/CFT implementation requirements
  • Royal Decree No. 30 of 2016 (AML/CFT) — broad "funds" definition reaching digital/electronic form; FATF Recommendation 15 alignment
  • Crypto is not legal tender; the posture is facilitative (alternative financing/investment platform with risk mitigation)

Structure:

  • Currently AML/CFT registration only (no full VASP authorisation/licence categories in force until the VARF is enacted)
  • The forthcoming framework is expected to license exchanges, issuers/ICOs, custody and other VASP categories with a supervisory/market-abuse regime
  • Timing depends on enactment of the final regulation following the 2025 consultation — not a fixed clock

Operational reality:

  • A genuinely developing, constructive regime — promising but not yet a usable full licence; only AML registration applies today
  • Engagement should be staged strictly against enactment of the VARF and its implementing rules/fees, verified directly with the FSA/CMA
  • Independent AML/sanctions diligence remains essential pending the framework

Payments & E-money (Central Bank of Oman)

Best for payment service providers and e-money issuers prepared to license with the CBO under a developed, first-of-its-kind regional framework.

What it is: CBO authorisation as a PSP, e-money issuer or payment-system operator under the National Payment Systems Law (Royal Decree No. 8/2018) and its Executive Regulation (Ministerial Decision No. 1/2019).

Who it suits: FinTechs, e-wallet providers, merchant-processing and remittance firms, and system operators building CBO-regulated rails in a diversifying, remittance-heavy market.

Covers: Payment services, e-money issuance, direct debit, merchant processing, mobile payments (MPCSS), system operation/settlement; FinTech sandbox testing for local FinTechs.

Operational requirement: Omani registered entity (LLC/JSC/foreign branch as applicable) with an Omani national in management (reported); CBO licensing; minimum capital and annual fees per CBO rules; AML/CFT/KYC, fit-and-proper, security and risk-management compliance; integration with national payment infrastructure.

Headline figures

  • Primary instruments: National Payment Systems Law (Royal Decree No. 8/2018); Executive Regulation (Ministerial Decision No. 1/2019; Official Gazette 28 July 2019; 76 articles)
  • Regulator/infrastructure: CBO (Royal Decree No. 7/1974); RTGS, ACH, ECC, OmanNet, MPCSS/MpClear; open banking (reported Jan 2025); IBAN mandatory domestically from 1 July 2025
  • PSP capital (reported): ~OMR 500,000 (≈ USD 1,300,000); annual fee ~OMR 5,000 (≈ USD 13,000) — secondary, not primary-verified
  • FinTech sandbox: local FinTechs, minimum 6 months; fee reported ~OMR 200 (≈ USD 520)
  • Currency: OMR, USD-pegged (USD 1 = OMR 0.3845)

Is there a gambling licence in Oman?

No. All gambling is comprehensively prohibited in Oman under the Basic Law (Article 2 — Sharia basis of legislation) and the Omani Penal Law (gambling-establishment offence commonly cited around Article 289 — imprisonment up to three years plus fines). There is no regulator, statute permitting gambling, or licence.

The legal foundation:

  • Basic Law (Article 2) — Islam/Sharia is the basis of legislation; gambling (maisir/qimar) haram
  • Omani Penal Law — establishing/preparing/opening/managing a gambling place or organising games of chance is criminal; commonly cited Article 289 (imprisonment up to three years plus fines)
  • No regulator, no licensing route, no national lottery, no exceptions

Structure:

  • All forms — casino, sports betting, lottery, online — prohibited; advertising/promotion forbidden
  • Online not separately addressed but covered by the general prohibition; offshore sites blocked (informal access reported but illegal and at users' legal risk)
  • No liberalisation signalled (Sharia-grounded; strong religious-constitutional basis)

Gambling — not available (Sharia-prohibited)

Not applicable — there is no gambling licence in Oman and none can be issued.

What it is: There is no gambling authorisation in Oman; all gambling is a criminal offence.

Who it suits: No operator — market entry is not legally possible.

Covers: Nothing; all gambling (land-based and online) is prohibited.

Operational requirement: Not applicable; establishing, managing or organising gambling exposes individuals and operators to imprisonment and fines under the Omani Penal Law.

Headline figures

  • Status: comprehensively prohibited (Basic Law Article 2; Omani Penal Law)
  • Penalty (commonly cited, ~Art. 289): imprisonment up to three years plus fines
  • Regulator / licence / national lottery: none
  • Liberalisation outlook: none signalled (Sharia-grounded constitutional basis)

Costs and timelines at a glance

  • Crypto: no enacted standalone law; VARF in development (announced Feb 2023; 2023 + 2025 consultations; to license all VASP categories); interim AML registration (CMA Decision No. E/35/2023; Royal Decree No. 30/2016); not legal tender; FATF R.15
  • Payments primary instruments: National Payment Systems Law (Royal Decree No. 8/2018); Executive Regulation (Ministerial Decision No. 1/2019; Official Gazette 28 July 2019; 76 articles)
  • Payments regulator/infrastructure: CBO (RD 7/1974); RTGS/ACH/ECC/OmanNet/MPCSS; open banking (reported Jan 2025); IBAN mandatory domestically 1 Jul 2025
  • PSP figures (reported): min capital ~OMR 500,000 (≈ USD 1,300,000); annual fee ~OMR 5,000 (≈ USD 13,000); sandbox ~OMR 200 (≈ USD 520) — secondary, not primary-verified
  • Gambling: comprehensively prohibited (Basic Law Art. 2; Omani Penal Law ~Art. 289 — up to 3 years + fines); no regulator/licence/lottery
  • Currency: OMR, USD-pegged (USD 1 = OMR 0.3845)
  • FX: USD 1 = OMR 0.3845 (1 OMR ≈ USD 2.60)

Who Oman suits and who it does not

Suitable for

  • Payment service providers, e-money issuers and payment-system operators prepared to license with the CBO under the National Payment Systems Law, in a diversifying, remittance-heavy market
  • Local FinTechs able to test via the CBO FinTech Regulatory Sandbox and integrate with national payment infrastructure
  • Virtual-asset businesses willing to engage early and stage market entry against enactment of the forthcoming FSA/CMA Virtual Assets Regulatory Framework (with interim AML/CFT registration), accepting timeline uncertainty
  • Groups comfortable in a USD-pegged, Islamic-law Gulf jurisdiction with a constructive crypto trajectory, strong independent counsel and FATF-aligned AML capacity

Not suitable for

  • Crypto/VASP businesses needing an enacted, usable full licensing regime now — only AML registration applies pending the VARF
  • Any gambling operator — all gambling is a criminal offence under the Basic Law and Penal Law; no regulator, licence or national lottery exists
  • Operators expecting near-term gambling liberalisation — none is signalled and the prohibition is Sharia/constitutionally grounded
  • Payment firms unable to meet CBO capital/fee and local-presence/management requirements, or expecting passporting (no regional crypto/payments passport)
  • Businesses needing certainty on crypto licensing scope/fees today — these await the final VARF text following the 2025 consultation

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